Three rings stolen from ex-Laker A.C. Green

FOX SPORTS WEST STAFF

FS West

While Phil Jackson shows off his 11 championship rings in the latest
Twitter craze, former
Lakers star A.C. Green finds himself missing three.

According to police reports on Thursday, three of Green's NBA championship rings were stolen by day laborers hired to move items into storage. The diamond-encrusted gold rings are reportedly worth $25,000 each.

"To him, (they are) priceless," Palos Verdes Estates police Sgt. Steve Barber told the Daily Breeze. "They are worth a lot of money, especially to somebody who is a collector. It's going to be really difficult for somebody to pawn it off."

Two of the rings were reportedly from his playing days — one from the Lakers' win over the Boston Celtics in 1987, the second from the Lakers' win over the Indiana Pacers in 2000. The third was from 2009, when the Lakers topped the Orlando Magic in five games. Green said he coached that season, although he wasn't an official member of Jackson's staff.

According to reports, Green hired the workers on March 20, but after returning home he saw the rings were missing.

Green, who holds the NBA record for playing in 1,192 straight games, has yet to comment, but police are spreading the word in hopes that fans might dish out an assist for the former Showtime Laker who played alongside Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Byron Scott.

"We put out our bulletin to all the local agencies to get the word out," Barber said. "Now with this story, the public will know and we can hopefully get their help. There are plenty of Laker fans in L.A. who wouldn't want one of the best players who played for them in a long time to lose his rings. "

The robbery marks the second time this month a championship ring has been stolen.

Former San Francisco 49ers kicker Mike Cofer was at his son's high school baseball game earlier this month and returned to his Las Vegas-area home to find his door bashed in and two
Super Bowl rings missing.

An upset Cofer told FOX5, "Something that you cherish, something that you feel proud of, put a lot of hard work into, and someone thinks they deserve it more than you do."

"They can take a ring or a watch or whatever, but they weren't on the field that night, so they'll never be able to take that memory," he said.

After a stint with the
Suns and Mavs, Green won a championship with Shaquille O'Neal and
Kobe Bryant in 2000, and went on to retire the following year from the Miami Heat.

A local resident who currently works as a color commentator for the Lakers' D-League team, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, Green is also known for his outreach programs.

According to his website, the A.C. Green Youth Foundation strives to "build character, building strong bodies and strong minds, winning and losing with dignity, teamwork, and sacrifice."